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Friday, November 18, 2011

Once upon a time there were two little boys, Matteo and Nico. Oh, how they loved to pretend to be warriors, vikings and knights! Using sticks, they'd duel each other...swinging and poking, slashing and screaming, their poor mother was at her wits end! What power these little boys had! What energy! Then something magical and wondrous happened... she met Master Alejandro.

Master Alejandro is part wizard and part craftsman. Quite learned about the ways of knights and warriors, he created special swords for the two boys. The little boy Nico, chose the sword which carried the image of a spider, bearing the gift of cleverness and cunning to the one who holds it. He christianed his sword, Anansi. The other sword held an image of a tree, bestowing the one who wields it a mastery of the Forest and Trees. The older brother Matteo, chose the name Wildwood.

The boys were in awe of such wondrous blades! Made of leather, the swords had the ability to strike down evil while still protecting the boys from harm. The boys mother taught them the responsibility of having such swords...

Respect Anansi and Wildwood and the power that they holdNever let the blades fly in angerUse them to protect that which you love and honorand lastly...

Do not use them on your brothers!

The boys were so very happy, swinging and jousting these beautiful swords. They wanted to know more about Master Alejandro. Their mother told them of how Master Alejandro was from a land of many lakes and that he had travelled to a far, far country to learn the art of making leather swords, shields and masks. She told them of the care and love that went into creating these magical swords... and of the great responsiblity that came with bearing such great power.

The boys gave heed to their mothers petition for care with their new blades. They roamed the countryside, looking for dragons, monsters and furies... protecting the world around them and those that they loved... as all wonderful little boys do.

Sending much gratitude and love to Alejandro Ortega, aka "Master Alejandro"! An artisan skilled in creating the punchinello masks from the Italian art form of Commedia d’el Arte, he has taken this talent of working with leather and applied it to the making of swords, daggers, shields and even the occasional adorable elephant :). These beautiful, heirloom quality items can be found in his Etsy shop, Made By Alejandro